Expandable handbag

ABSTRACT

An expandable handbag that includes a plurality of sides, a bottom, and a main interior compartment formed by the plurality of sides and the bottom. The main interior compartment is configured to contain items. The handbag includes a flap capable of being removably secured to a side of the plurality of sides to aid in preventing the items from falling out of the main interior compartment. The handbag also includes an expansion mechanism configured to cause a size of at least one of the bottom and the plurality of sides to increase.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Provisional Application No. 62/044,000, filed on Aug. 29, 2014, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

An area of ongoing research and development is teaching is containers. In particular, handbags that are capable of carrying large items while still being portable are being researched.

Other limitations of the relevant art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the specification and studying of the drawings.

SUMMARY

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools, and methods that are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not necessarily limiting in scope. In various embodiments one or more of the above-described problems have been addressed, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.

In various embodiments, an expandable handbag including a plurality of sides, a bottom, and a main interior compartment formed by the plurality of sides and the bottom. Further, in various embodiments, the main interior compartment is configured to contain items. In various embodiments, the handbag includes a flap capable of being removably secured to a side of the plurality of sides to aid in preventing the items from falling out of the main interior compartment. Additionally, in various embodiments, the handbag includes an expansion mechanism configured to cause a size of at least one of the bottom and the plurality of sides to increase.

These and other advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several examples of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a front perspective view of a handbag in a closed configuration.

FIG. 2 depicts a front perspective view of a handbag in an open configuration.

FIG. 3 depicts a top perspective view of a handbag in an open configuration.

FIG. 4 depicts a front cross sectional view of a handbag with a removable insert.

FIG. 5 depicts a front cross sectional view of a handbag with an additional compartment.

FIG. 6 depicts a back cross sectional view of a handbag with additional compartments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a front perspective view of a handbag 100 in a closed configuration. The handbag 100 can be comprised of an applicable material for withstanding every day wear put on the handbag 100. For example, the handbag 100 can be comprised of leather, synthetic leather, or plastic. In various embodiments, the handbag 100 can be comprised of a liquid proof or liquid resistant material. Further, in various embodiments, the handbag 100 can include ornamental decorations or indicia printed on the handbag 100. In various embodiments, the handbag 100 can include a pocket on the outside of the handbag. The pocket can be of a size to fit a tablet or other portable electronic devices.

The handbag 100 includes a flap 102 that is capable of being secured to a side 104 of the handbag 100. In securing the flap 102 to a side 104 of the handbag 100, a main interior compartment formed, in part, by the side 104 is partially sealed to prevent, in part, contents contained within the compartment from falling out. The flap 102 can be secured to the side 104 through an applicable fastening mechanism for removably securing the flap 102 to the side 104. As used in this paper, removably secure means that the flap 102 can be attached and unattached to the side 104. For example, the flap 102 can be removably secured to the side through a clasp or a Velcro® fastener. A clasp can include a mechanical clasp or a magnetic clasp.

The flap 102 includes an additional interior compartment 106 formed within the flap 102 and sides of the handbag, including the side 104. The additional interior compartment 106 can be separate from a main interior compartment formed by the sides of the handbag 100. The additional interior compartment 106 is formed as part a pocket between an inner wall and outer wall of the flap 102. The additional interior compartment 106 includes an opening 108 at the end of the flap 102. The opening 108 of the additional interior compartment 106 can include a closing means. A closing mechanism includes an applicable mechanism for closing, at least in part, the opening 108 to prevent items contained within the additional interior compartment 106 from falling out of the additional interior compartment 106. The closing mechanism can include an applicable means for closing an opening, such as a zipper.

The handbag 100 includes an expansion mechanism 110. The expansion mechanism 110 is a mechanism that allows the sides of the handbag 100 to be increased in size, thereby increasing the size of the main interior compartment. As a result, items of varying sizes can be contained within the main interior compartment of the handbag 100. The expansion mechanism 110 can cause at least one of a side or a bottom of the handbag 110 to increase in size. In various embodiments, the expansion mechanism 110 causes two sides and a bottom of the handbag 100 to increase in size. The expansion mechanism 110 is an applicable mechanism that allows a size of either or both a side or bottom of the handbag 100 to increase. In various embodiments, the expansion mechanism 110 is a zipper with additional material attached to opposing ends 112 and 114 of the zipper. In operation, when the zipper is opened to cause the opposing ends 112 and 114 to separate, the additional material forms part of at least a side or a bottom of the handbag 100 to cause the side or bottom of the handbag 100 to increase.

In an embodiment, the handbag 100 is used to transport shoes of various sizes. Specifically, using the expansion mechanism 110, the handbag 100 is configured to include a main interior compartment that changes in sizes to fit shoes of differing sizes. For example, using the expansion mechanism 110, the handbag 100 can be sized to contain a flat shoe or a high heel shoe within the main interior compartment.

FIG. 2 depicts a front perspective view of a handbag 200 in an open configuration. The handbag 200 is in an open configuration, when the flap 202 is not secured to a side 204 of the handbag 200 to expose an inner wall 206 of the flap 202 and a main interior compartment 208 of the handbag 200. The handbag 200 includes an expansion mechanism 210 that allows the side of the main interior compartment 208 to be changed. The main interior compartment 208 can be lined with a waterproof durable fabric to prevent damage to the handbag 200 from contained items.

In an embodiment, the main interior compartment 208 includes a removable insert. The removable insert can be used to separate contents contained within the main interior compartment 208. For example, the removable insert can be used to separate shoes contained within the main interior compartment 208. The removable insert can be fabricated from a durable waterproof fabric to ensure that heels of shoes contained within the main interior compartment 208 do not damage the removable insert.

In an embodiment, the main interior compartment 208 includes an additional compartment. The additional compartment is a separate compartment within the main interior compartment 208 that is accessible through the main interior compartment 208. For example, the additional compartment can be a pocket formed in a side of the main interior compartment 208. In various embodiments, the additional compartment can include a closing mechanism to prevent items contained within the additional compartment from falling into the main interior compartment 208. For example the additional compartment can include a zipper on an opening between the additional compartment and the main interior compartment 208. As a result, a user can organize and keep items in the additional compartment separate from the main interior compartment 208.

FIG. 3 depicts a top perspective view of a handbag 300 in an open configuration. The handbag includes a main interior compartment 302. The main interior compartment 302 includes an additional compartment 304. The additional compartment 304 is a compartment within the main interior compartment 302 that is accessed through the main interior compartment 302. For example, the additional compartment 304 can be a pocket formed in a side of the main interior compartment 302.

The main interior compartment 302 includes a removable insert 306. The removable insert 306 can be of a size to extend across an entire length of the main interior compartment or a portion of the length of the main interior compartment. In various embodiments, the removable insert 306 includes furrows 308. The furrows 308 allow the removable insert 306 to change in size and subsequently separate items of various sizes contained within the main interior compartment 302.

In an embodiment, the removable insert 306 and/or the main interior compartment 302 include fastening mechanisms for removably securing the removable insert 306 within the main interior compartment 302. For example the removable insert 306 can include Velcro® which attaches the removable insert 306 to the sides of the main interior compartment 302.

FIG. 4 depicts a front cross sectional view of a handbag 400 with a removable insert 402. The removable insert 402 is sized to fit within a main interior compartment 404 of the handbag 400. The removable insert 402 and/or the main interior compartment 404 can include fasting mechanisms for removably securing the removable insert 402 within the main interior compartment 404.

FIG. 5 depicts a front cross sectional view of a handbag 500 with an additional compartment 502. The additional compartment 502 is formed as a pocket within a main interior compartment of the handbag 500. The additional compartment 502 includes a closing mechanism to prevent items contained within the additional compartment 502 from falling into the main interior compartment. In the example handbag 500 shown in FIG. 5, the closing mechanism is a zipper that closes an opening of the pocket forming the additional compartment 502.

FIG. 6 depicts a back cross sectional view of a handbag 600 with additional compartments 602. The additional compartments 602 are formed as two pockets within a main interior compartment of the handbag 600.

These and other examples provided in this paper are intended to illustrate but not necessarily to limit the described embodiment. As used herein, the term “embodiment” means an embodiment that serves to illustrate by way of example but not limitation. The techniques described in the preceding text and figures can be mixed and matched as circumstances demand to produce alternative embodiments. 

We claim:
 1. A handbag comprising: a plurality of sides; a bottom; a main interior compartment formed by the plurality of sides and the bottom and configured to contain items; a flap capable of being removably secured to a side of the plurality of sides to aid in preventing the items from falling out of the main interior compartment; and, an expansion mechanism configured to cause a size of at least one of the bottom and the plurality of sides to increase.
 2. The handbag of claim 1, wherein the expansion mechanism includes a zipper with additional material attached to opposing ends of the zipper, the additional material becoming part of at least one of the bottom and the plurality of sides when the zipper is opened to cause the size of at least one of the bottom and the plurality of sides to increase.
 3. The handbag of claim 1, further comprising an additional compartment within the main interior compartment and configured to contain additional items separately from the main interior compartment.
 4. The handbag of claim 3, wherein the additional compartment is a pocket within a side of the main interior compartment.
 5. The handbag of claim 3, wherein the additional compartment includes a closing mechanism to aid in preventing the additional items from falling out of the additional compartment.
 6. The handbag of claim 1, wherein the main interior compartment is lined with a liquid resistant material.
 7. The handbag of claim 1, further comprising a fastening mechanism configured to removably secure the flap to the side.
 8. The handbag of claim 1, wherein the fastening mechanism is a magnetic clasp.
 9. The handbag of claim 1, further comprising a removable insert configured to separate the main interior compartment into portions.
 10. The handbag of claim 9, wherein at least one of the main interior compartment and the removable insert include a fastening mechanism for removably securing the removable insert within the main interior compartment.
 11. The handbag of claim 9, wherein the removable insert includes furrows configured to allow the removable insert to expand in size.
 12. The handbag of claim 1, wherein the flap includes an additional interior compartment formed within the flap.
 13. The handbag of claim 12, wherein the flap is a pocket with an opening at the end of the flap.
 14. The handbag of claim 13, wherein the flap includes a closing mechanism for closing at least a portion of the opening and aiding in preventing contained items from falling out of the additional interior compartment.
 15. The handbag of claim 13, wherein the items contained within the main interior compartment include shoes and the expansion mechanism configured to increase the size of the main interior compartment to a size large enough to contain the shoes. 